Department for Transport

Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what Schedule 4 compensation payments have been made by Network Rail to train operators on the Great Western Mainline as a result of electrification of the line.

Claire Perry: The Department does not hold details of the timing, number or value of such payments, which are a commercial matter between the parties directly concerned, overseen by the Office of Rail and Road.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Tower Hamlets

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the role, work and effectiveness of the commissioners appointed to engage with and oversee the mayor, councillors and officers of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Commissioners were appointed by my predecessor in response to an independent inspection of Tower Hamlets which concluded the Authority was failing to comply with its best value duty in a number of significant areas. My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State (Greg Clark) subsequently met the Lead Commissioner Sir Ken Knight and discussed the intervention and his team’s role and work. Specifically, under the Commissioners’ guidance, a new Mainstream Grants Programme has been developed through an open and transparent commissioning process. Parliamentary and mayoral elections in the borough have passed without incident, and recruitment of a new permanent top officer team, including Will Tuckley as CEO and Returning Officer, has taken place. I am satisfied that the Commissioners have made a significant contribution to building sound financial management and good governance in Tower Hamlets and will continue to do so.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: As I said to Parliament on 15 September, the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections in August were the freest, fairest and least violent in living memory. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) congratulated the Government of Sri Lanka on the peaceful elections and reiterated that the United Kingdom remains a steadfast partner on reconciliation and peace. The August elections in Sri Lanka have resulted in a government committed to reconciliation and peace building. President Sirisena set out his government’s priorities to Parliament on 1 September. These included constitutional reforms; abolishing the Executive Presidency; electoral reform; strengthening institutions; and reforming the public sector and welfare systems. While we recognise that more needs to be done there has been some early progress with constitutional reforms strengthening democratic checks and balances, some land previously under military use being returned and military Governors in the north and east being replaced by civilians. Within this context, on 16 September I welcomed the publication of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights report into allegations of serious violations and abuses of human rights in Sri Lanka.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Freedom of Information

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many hours his Department spent on processing freedom of information requests in each of the last 24 months.

Joseph Johnson: The processing of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests is part of staff responsibilities across the Department. The number of hours spent on this activity is not separately identified.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with international partners on the inclusion of Investor State Dispute Settlement in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received from campaign groups on the inclusion of Investor State Dispute Settlement in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.

Anna Soubry: The Government has ongoing discussions on the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement provisions in the Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated between the EU and US, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. These discussions have included other EU member states, the European Commission, civil society groups, and other stakeholders. We want investment protection provisions that guarantee the right of governments to legislate in the public interest while ensuring access to justice for investors who are discriminated against or treated unfairly. The UK has Bilateral Investment Treaties in force with 94 countries and has never faced a serious investor state dispute claim.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received from private companies on the exemption of health services from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Anna Soubry: I am not aware of this department having received any representations of this nature.The UK has protected the NHS and public services in all trade agreements and will continue to do so in this deal. This is non-negotiable.As Commissioner Malmström and US Trade Representative Froman have said “No EU or US trade agreement requires governments to privatise any service, or prevents governments from expanding the range of services they supply to the public. Moreover, these agreements do not prevent governments from providing public services previously supplied by private service suppliers; contracting a public service to private providers does not mean that it becomes irreversibly part of the commercial sector.”

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with international partners on the exemption of health services from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Anna Soubry: The UK has protected the NHS and public services in all trade agreements and will continue to do so in this deal. We have made clear to our international partners that this is non-negotiable and sought assurances from them.In response, in January, the European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, wrote an open letter to the then Minister of State for Trade and Investment, clarifying that EU countries will be free to decide how they run their public services and stating explicitly that the NHS is not at risk from this free trade agreement.In March, she and the US Trade Representative, Mike Froman issued a joint public statement reiterating this.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of collaboration between his Department and UK defence companies in developing an independent UK unmanned aerial vehicles' capacity; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: Our policy remains to provide our Armed Forces with the equipment and support they need, at the right time, and at a cost that represents value for the taxpayer. For the majority of our requirements, this is best achieved through open competition on the global market. As such, the Ministry of Defence collaborates with both UK and overseas defence companies on the development, production and support of current and future Unmanned Air Systems capabilities, based on individual user requirements.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in what circumstances the armed forces would be deployed in the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne: Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) underpins the principles of military assistance and deployment in the UK. The Minister for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member setting out further details including when the Armed Forces have deployed since 2010 and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work capability assessments in connection with claims for employment and support allowance have been carried out in (a) Inverclyde, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK in the last two years.

Priti Patel: A total of 5,100 work capability assessments were carried out in Inverclyde; 221,900 in Scotland, and; 1,914,000 in Britain between April 2013 and March 2015. All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. The assessments include Employment and Support Allowance initial assessments, repeat assessments and Incapacity Benefit reassessments.

Universal Credit: Inverclyde

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when universal credit will be rolled out in Inverclyde constituency.

Priti Patel: Inverclyde is part of our Tranche 3 roll out schedule which runs from September 2015 to November 2015 and goes live on 12 October 2015. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414937/universal-credit-national-expansion-tranche-three-and-four.pdf

Children: Maintenance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to ensure that absentee fathers are financially responsible for their dependent children.

Priti Patel: The new statutory child maintenance scheme (“the 2012 Scheme” - administered by the Child Maintenance Service) has a number of key features designed to ensure that non-resident parents meet their financial responsibilities to their children. For example, the 2012 Scheme uses tax data taken directly from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, addressing challenges around ensuring that the child maintenance calculation is based on accurate earnings information. The scheme also enables swifter identification and follow-up of those non-resident parents who fail to pay their child maintenance. Where non-resident parents fail to meet their liabilities, there are a range of enforcement powers; for example, child maintenance can be taken directly from bank accounts and wages; non-resident parents are subject to charges for any enforcement action taken against them; and the Government has also introduced a new power to disclose non-compliance to credit reference agencies. Note: The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the Child Maintenance Service in Great Britain, in Northern Ireland Child Maintenance is administered by the Department for Social Development.

Home Office

Illegal Immigrants: France

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of additional (a) security staff and (b) sniffer dogs deployed at Calais since 1 June 2015.

James Brokenshire: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 18 September 2015.The correct answer should have been:

The costs of additional security staff and sniffer dogs in June, July and August 2015 were:   JuneJulyAugustSecurity staff£57,000£94,000£121,000Sniffer dogs£45,000£90,000£207,000TOTAL£342,000£272,000£614,000 JuneJulyAugustTotalSecurity staff£57,000£94,000£121,000£272,000Sniffer dogs£45,000£90,000£207,000£342,000

James Brokenshire: The costs of additional security staff and sniffer dogs in June, July and August 2015 were:   JuneJulyAugustSecurity staff£57,000£94,000£121,000Sniffer dogs£45,000£90,000£207,000TOTAL£342,000£272,000£614,000 JuneJulyAugustTotalSecurity staff£57,000£94,000£121,000£272,000Sniffer dogs£45,000£90,000£207,000£342,000

HM Treasury

Personal Income

Mr David Anderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the maximum number of people whose income will fall as a result of changes to taxes and benefits introduced by the Summer Budget 2015; and if he will estimate the average fall in annual income for those people.

Damian Hinds: The reforms announced at the Summer Budget will ensure that support will be focused more on those on the very lowest incomes and the system will be fairer upon those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it. Taking the welfare changes in the Budget together with the record increases in the income tax personal allowance and the introduction of the new National Living Wage, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off in 2017-18.

Farms: Non-domestic Rates

Nigel Adams: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Valuation Office on the Government's policy on the rating of farm and agricultural land used by festivals.

Mr David Gauke: The Valuation Office Agency has provided factual information to HM Treasury in respect of its review of business rates on festival sites.   The aim of this review is to ensure that those sites that should be assessed, are rated correctly, thus treating all businesses equally and ensuring they pay their fair share of the overall business rates bill.

Bank Cards: Fees and Charges

Ian Paisley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria and calculations the Government intends to use to determine which particular card schemes will be subject to interchange fee regulation as part of the EU Multilateral Interchange Fees regulation.

Ian Paisley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the scale of the competitive advantage gained by any particular card scheme being exempted from interchange fee regulations as part of the EU Multilateral Interchange Fees regulation.

Ian Paisley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what input the Payment Systems Regulator has in assisting defining the criteria and calculations the Government intends to use to determine which particular card schemes will be subject to interchange fee regulation as part of the EU Multilateral Interchange Fee regulation.

Mr David Gauke: The European Interchange Fee Regulation is directly applicable to UK law. However, there are discretions afforded to Member States, including an exemption for certain card schemes which have less than a 3% market share in the UK. The Government has consulted on this issue and will set out its response in due course.

Personal Savings: Pensioners

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial advice his Department provides to pensioners on investment of savings.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has recently set up Pension Wise to provide free, impartial guidance for those who are able to use the new pension flexibilities, to help them make confident and informed decisions on how they use their defined contribution pension savings. Pension Wise offers guidance online, over the phone, and face to face.   HM Treasury has also announced a joint review with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the advice landscape, the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR). This will be looking at ensuring more people have access to appropriate and affordable advice and guidance.

Welfare Tax Credits

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families in each constituency will be affected by the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Damian Hinds: This information is unavailable.   The Government is making changes to Tax Credits and Universal Credit which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The emphasis is on supporting hardworking families on low incomes by reducing income tax through increases in the personal allowance and increasing wages, rather than on topping up low wages through tax credits.   HMT has published a distributional analysis of the impact of the Summer Budget 2015 which includes the effect of tax credit and other welfare measures on households. This information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443229/PU1822_Distributional_Analysis.pdf   HMRC publishes information on families’ tax credit awards within local authorities. The most recent available data is for 2013-14 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014 Information on the number of families in individual constituencies receiving tax credits and the average value of these payments can be found in table 2.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Solar Power: Industry

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to protect and promote the British solar power industry.

Andrea Leadsom: Government incentives to deploy solar, in the form of the renewables obligation, the feed-in tariff scheme and contracts for different, have driven a very rapid increase in deployment – from approximately 43MW in May 2010, to 7872MW in July 2015[1], totalling nearly 740,000 installations. DECC has recently consulted on measures under the FIT and the RO to bring the costs of support under these schemes under greater control and ensure that they provide value for money for electricity bill payers whilst still supporting deployment.  [1] Solar PV Deployment: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solar-photovoltaics-deployment

Solar Power: Employment

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of announcements on solar policy since May 2015 on (a) current and (b) future employment levels in that sector; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: A report by BIS, published in March 2015, suggested that in 2013 34,400 people were employed in the wider solar PV sector and its supply chain, although this is likely to include companies that have an involvement in the solar sector without solar being their core business. The BIS report can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416240/bis-15-206-size-and-performance-of-uk-low-carbon-economy.pdf.Numbers on employment in the sector are not robust enough to show how many jobs are supported directly by either the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme or the renewables obligation (RO), and for this reason it has not been possible to quantify with a high degree of confidence the impact of proposed changes on employment levels in the sector or the wider economy. We have asked a question in the FIT review consultation about the wider impact of changes.Deployment of solar at all levels has been more rapid and more extensive than predicted and this is why we have proposed changes to bring the incentive schemes under greater control and ensure that they provide value for money for electricity bill payers, whilst still supporting deployment.

Solar Power

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to support the installation of solar energy panels; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Government incentives to deploy solar, in the form of the renewables obligation, the feed-in tariff scheme and contracts for different, have driven a very rapid increase in deployment – from approximately 43MW in May 2010, to 7872MW in July 2015[1], totalling nearly 740,000 installations. DECC has recently consulted on measures under the FIT and the RO to bring the costs of support under these schemes under greater control and ensure that they provide value for money for electricity bill payers whilst still supporting deployment.  [1] Solar PV Deployment: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solar-photovoltaics-deployment

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for what reasons the feed-in tariff review consultation did not consider the effect of changes to that tariff on levels of employment in the solar sector.

Andrea Leadsom: Numbers on employment in the sector are not robust enough to show how many jobs are supported directly by the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme, and for this reason it has not been possible to quantify with a high degree of confidence the impact of proposed changes on employment levels in the sector or the wider economy. We have asked a question in the FIT review consultation about the wider impact of changes.

Offshore Industry: Aberdeen

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what engagements (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department attended at the Offshore Europe 2015 exhibition in Aberdeen in September 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government recognises the importance of the UK oil and gas industry to our economy and energy needs. Parliamentary business did not allow DECC Minsters to attend Offshore Europe but, as it is a key priority, the Oil and Gas Authority and DECC Officials played a leading role and we continue to maintain a dialogue with operators and other industry stakeholders. The Energy Minister’s first official visit was to Aberdeen to see first-hand what the industry is achieving even in these difficult times. She continues to visit and meet with many in the sector.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of proposed changes to the feed-in-tariff on employment in the solar industry.

Andrea Leadsom: BIS’s report “The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy” estimated that in 2013 there were over 34,000 jobs in the UK solar sector.Our consultation on the feed-in tariff review reflects the need to balance sector support whilst keeping bills down for consumers.We strongly welcome evidence from the sector during this review consultation, which ends on 23 October, and only then can we begin to analyse the impact on jobs.

Wind Power: Renewables Obligation

Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to her Department's Impact Assessment of 8 September 2015 on Onshore Wind: closure of renewables obligation on 31 March 2016, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the proposed closure of the Renewables Obligation for onshore wind on the cost of capital for (a) onshore wind projects and (b) wider renewables investment.

Andrea Leadsom: The impact assessment (IA) of 8th September sets out the evidence used to inform the 18th June 2015 announcement that the Government would legislate to close the RO to new onshore wind from 1st April 2016 – a year earlier than previously planned.After the announcement DECC undertook an engagement exercise with hundreds of industry representatives, including developers and investors. DECC is carefully reviewing the feedback provided during the engagement exercise and the IA will be updated when that work has finished.

Biofuels: Finance

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department's policy is on altering the Contract for Defence auction process to combined the established, non-established and biomass pots and standardise the length of contracts.

Andrea Leadsom: The long term vision of the CFD has always been one in which technologies compete against each other on an equivalent basis.The generic allocation process reflects this vision, by using auctions to award standardised 15 year CFD contracts to technologies in both the mature and less mature pots.We will continue to review and refine the operation of the CFD scheme and expect to set out plans for the next CFD allocation round in the autumn.

Renewable Energy

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of energy used in the UK that was from renewable sources in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The table below shows the proportion of energy used in the UK from renewable sources, in each of the last five years, as measured under the 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive. 20102011201220132014Renewable energyshare of gross final energyconsumption3.8%4.2%4.7%5.6%7.0%Source:Table DUKES 6.7, Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2015 available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes